Arts Lab 7.0: Monica Lourenco | Month I

I arrived in Târgu Frumos in the morning of 18th September. Since the first day, I felt very welcomed by the other volunteers and locals, and that feeling is still the same. I couldn’t feel more blessed and happier to be here.

During this first month of the project, we did a lot of different activities, from excursions to preparing workshops and residencies. Since I’m a person obsessed with timelines and details, I’ll divide my reports into small parts, taking into consideration the activities we’ve done.

Crafter’s Market (19th – 21st September), Târgu Frumos

In this event, we had the opportunity to meet Romanian crafters with singular specializations: from honey, rose, and lavender producers to artisans focused on making beaded jewelry, wood-carved spoons, leather bags, traditional masks, and crochet/knitted clothes. The variety was inspiring for me, and it was a good introduction to Romanian folklore.

We were asked to do small tasks during the market to promote it and also to create a small workshop for the community. I was assigned to make postcards, initially with a personal drawing. But then, after a miscommunication situation, a beautiful idea developed, and Mihaela and I went to each bench to ask for a drawing and a signature from each crafter to make a postcard. During that mission, I learned a lot about their own art and themselves, and even received beautiful gifts and tasted delicacies and homemade alcoholic drinks.

For the workshop, I chose to work with clay, where the goal was for the kids to make traditional masks and small pendants with Romanian folklore symbols. It was a challenge for me to interact with the people that showed up at our table without knowing the Romanian language and trying to explain the purpose of that workshop. Another challenge was to deal with children from problematic families, and it taught me the importance of getting to know their story in order to comprehend their challenging behavior and cope better with the situation. Nevertheless, they brought vital lessons for preparing myself for the next six months.

Visit to the Iași Pogrom Museum and the French Institute (30th September), Iași

On this day, we had the opportunity to visit the Iași Pogrom Museum, where we had a guided tour focused on the history of the Holocaust in Romania. It was an emotionally heavy experience. We could see, through pictures and testimonies of the survivors, the horror that happened during this period in Romania, including the tragic event that occurred in Târgu Frumos.

Later, we had the chance to be involved in an event in partnership with Europe Direct from Iași. The purpose was to share our different cultures with Romanians that were at the Institute to bring once again the feeling of oneness that the European Union aims for. The activity was to share the story of a children’s book meaningful to each one of us and from our country/culture. After it, I tried shaworma for the first time, and I’m trying for that not to become my new addiction.

Folklore Residency (1st – 3rd October), Târgu Frumos

In the Folklore Residency, I worked with Eva. We were assigned to work with a class from the Trinitas School. In this school, there are kids with disabilities, either mental or physical ones, and also from difficult backgrounds (foster homes, orphanages, or problematic families). On the first day, we worked together with Aya with two different classes in the same room, and the three of us prepared a variety of games and activities. It was a mess and overwhelming. The language barrier was very strong, and we could barely control the class. We needed the help of Mircea to facilitate the activities. We came to the conclusion that visual explanations were super important for us to facilitate, and Eva and I worked on it for the next two days of the residency. In fact, on the next day, with a smaller group (around eight teenagers from 12 to 16 years old) and a visual plan for the session, it helped us a lot, and our anxiety levels dropped. I personally felt more comfortable and in control, and they seemed more engaged in the activities. The main goal of our activity was for each child to create their own folklore creature using different artistic techniques such as collage, drawing, and paper paste. So far, so good. Although some of the kids didn’t want to participate in the activities, the ones that did were very talented. It is still not a comfortable role for me – being a facilitator – but it is a side of me that I want to explore more during the next months, and I appreciate this practical learning experience.

Folcloristica Festival (8th – 12th October), Heleșteni

In reality, the festival happened in three days, but it was interleaved with one day off for us to reflect and plan the following day – and it was really, really needed!

On the first day of the festival, we visited Heleșteni, the village that won the previous edition and was going to accommodate this year’s edition of the festival. My oh my, I felt like I was in some kind of dream. The village is gorgeous, and we were received very nicely by everyone! In the morning, the municipality welcomed us with bread and salt – bread symbolizing life and salt the precious and lasting bonds. Of course, palinka was also one of the welcoming offerings. After talking with the mayor and eating the breakfast they prepared for us, we headed to the next stop: the house of a textile traditional crafter called Liliana Oloeriu. The hospitality, the house itself and the landscape, the artworks she made and presented to us, the homemade and delicious food and drinks, her mother’s energy and playfulness… I was amazed by everything. I thought the day couldn’t get better, but I was so wrong…

Next stop was the Casa Bunicilor, a private ethnographic museum owned by Elena Polac. It was her family house full of traditional objects and family belongings. I could smell the history and imagine the life that once was there. Another place to get inspiration from for our personal artworks.

After this, we visited two Orthodox churches that exist in the village and learned about their history: the Adormirea Maicii Domnului Church and Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil Church. They were indeed very similar, both from the 19th century, but – my oh my! – the murals were astonishing! It was my first time entering an Orthodox church, and the wall paintings reminded me a lot of Giotto’s frescoes. I couldn’t stop looking at them. We also played the historical bells of the first church (lucky us!).

Next, we visited the shepherd Constantin Matei with his flock on a hill. My favorite part of the day! I ran after the sheep, laughed, felt the light rain on my face, and the sensation of freedom. Pure joy and happiness.

To end the day, we were invited by Constantin’s family into their home to eat amazing traditional food: stewed sheep, mămăligă, pork sausage, sheep milk cheese, zacuscă, plăcintă cu brânză (my favorite), and more. Everything was incredibly delicious. So far, this was my favorite day of the project and, again, I felt very blessed to be part of this all.

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On the second day of the festival, each one of us prepared a 20-minute workshop for small groups of kids to take place in one of the village’s schools. In order to improve the workshop I had prepared for the Crafter’s Market, I painted seven small cards with a traditional mask on each one. At the beginning of the session, each kid chose one of the cards as inspiration and made a mask with the provided clay and tools. The results were amazing, the kids were so talented, and this methodology worked so well! Definitely, a method I’ll use again later in the project.

Later, we went back to the municipality of Heleșteni and presented our country on the stage, interspersed with the beautiful performances of the Romanian traditional dances and songs. The vibe of the afternoon was very welcoming and happy. I loved cheering for my fellow volunteers and the locals.

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On the third day, it was the contest between the villages: their costumes, traditions, food, songs, and dances. We were the juries, one of us representing a different country. The rest were taking care of the photos and other organizational tasks. The goal of the contest was to find the winning village which would be the host of the next edition of the festival. And we tried such delicious food made by the five villages that were competing. Although the day started with a bittersweet moment, at the end, we were all back together singing karaoke on an empty stage.

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During our free days and/or at the end of the working days, we also had the chance to visit some places and a festival.

Anastasie Fătu Botanical Garden (23rd September), Iași

On our free day, Annalisa, Andrés, Kerem, and I decided to visit Iași and go to the Botanical Garden. I totally recommend a visit there: it is a big garden with greenhouses and even a faculty inside. It is divided by genres of plants, and I loved seeing side by side different species of plants and comparing their characteristics. At the end of the day, we stopped by a lake (still inside the botanical garden area) and just enjoyed our moment of silence there. A peaceful memory there.

Cucuteni Jazz Festival (26th – 28th September), Cucuteni

Some volunteers went to one of the nights of the Jazz Festival. For me, it was another favorite moment of this project so far: the festival was taking place next to the Archaeological Site Museum of Cucuteni. Only the food and antique stalls and the stage were lit up; all the rest were pure darkness – we could see the stars so clearly! The music was also incredible, and I found out that jazz is really my jam, all my body was dancing and vibing with the music. We met some friends of Mihaela, we danced together, and even got the chance to taste some homemade cherry liqueur. It was a lovely night.

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I would also like to talk about the local volunteers – they are A-MA-ZING! Such a cool community to be involved with! During this month, we played some games together in order to get to know each other. I really liked the clock game in which, at each hour of the clock, we had to meet someone to talk to. Mircea gave us the questions (deep ones!) and it was fun to talk more in-depth with each other.

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As a conclusion and reflection of the month, I really enjoyed being exposed to different environments and people during this month. Although I still feel I’m in my comfort zone, I already sense a small change inside of me for the better. Giving back to the community is something I really want to do back in Portugal, and here I’m finding the tools to do so, while making new connections with people from different walks of life. I’m very excited for the next months. Vamos nessa, Vanessa!

This monthly report was written by Monica Lourenco, our Portuguese volunteer taking part in a seven-month Arts Lab 7.0 mobility, co-funded by the European Union under the European Solidarity Corps.